So the Open Water Swimming community is pretty small… in two degrees of separation you could be swimming Suck Creek, in the Tennessee River Gorge! LOST Swimmer, Madhu, used to live in San Francisco and swam with the South End Swim Club there, and a woman named Karah Nazor… who has relocated to Chattanooga and started this race!
And yes, that is the name of the river… and the race… cool name for a race… I think… “Swim the Suck” (swimthesuck.com), not to be confused with “Suck in the Swim”… hey we’re all LOST swimmers, ya have to have a sense of humor about these things! Plus, I’m willing to bet you’ve never been to Chattanooga… it’s just fun to say, if nothing else!
It’s 10 miles / 16 km and takes anywhere from 3 – 5 hours… it’s downstream! Have a look at the video (link below)… just the music alone makes it seem like a pretty pleasant little paddle!
PS. I got this email (below) from Gary Labine from Toronto, who swam the LOST Race and Swim the Suck, he’s a great ows… and a traveller!
Hi Rob,
Swim the Suck is already a personal favourite of mine. Then again, last year’s inaugural race led us through the prettiest stretch of river I’ve ever swam. And Karah Nazor Friberg, her extended family and volunteers did a great job tending to every detail. Yes indeed, I’ll be back in October.
Cheers,
Gary Labine-Toronto
Swim the Suck Tennessee River Gorge 10 Mile Swim from Ben Friberg on Vimeo.
swimthesuck.com
Cheers,
Rob